By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
An early-season injury blow for Nick Calathes and AS Monaco.
The 35-year-old point guard, a newcomer to the La Roca Team, was ruled out for three to four weeks due to a knee injury, as announced on Monday.
In the starting lineup of the first official game of the 2024-25 campaign, Calathes tallied five points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals over 27 minutes in a losing effort against Saint-Quentin. In contrast to Round 1 of France’s Betclic Regular Season, he sat out the Round 2 contest against SIG Strasbourg on Sunday. However, his side improved to 1-1.
The international player with Greece was among summer signings for Monaco alongside Juhann Begarin, Vitto Brown, Furkan Korkmaz, and Giorgos Papagiannis. Returning players Jaron Blossomgame, Petr Cornelie, Alpha Diallo, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Mike James, Donatas Motiejunas, Elie Okobo, Matthew Strazel, and Terry Tarpey are also on the team guided by Obradovic.
Heading to Round 1 of the EuroLeague Regular Season, the back-to-back champions in France will welcome EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Salle Gaston Medecin on Thursday. Besides missing the next game, the Florida product has been projected to be out against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, FC Barcelona, Virtus Segafredo Bologna, and Paris along with a handful of games in the domestic league.
A former EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos in 2011, Calathes carries the experience of 358 appearances in Europe’s premier club continental competition. He is the all-time leader in assists and steals behind 2,085 and 449, respectively.